SCORE Program at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces

描述（由申请人提供）：这是一份申请Las Cruces新墨西哥州立大学（NMSU） SCORE项目补充资金的申请。新密西根州立大学的一个目标是扩大该机构的研究，以便希望从事生物医学科学学科的少数民族学生参与。拟议的SCORE计划的目标是：(1)通过增加从事生物医学研究的教师数量，增加训练有素的研究人员数量，增加专业单用户研究仪器的库存，提高研究仪器的维护能力，显著提高新密歇根州立大学开展生物医学相关研究的能力；(2)通过扩大教师参与的资助力度和提高研究出版物的数量和质量，显著提高新密歇根州立大学生物医学研究的数量和质量；(3)将SCORE计划的活动与预期的RISE计划相结合，通过让学生参与SCORE计划的研究项目，最大限度地利用资源培养生物医学领域的少数民族科学家；(4)通过让训练有素的人员参与SCORE项目的评估计划，并使项目接受外部评估委员会的年度审查，提高新密歇根州立大学自我评估、评估和监督其多组件研究项目的能力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is an application for supplemental funding for a SCORE Program at New Mexico State University (NMSU) at Las Cruces. A goal of NMSU is to expand research at the institution for participation by ethnic minority students who desire to pursue careers in the biomedical science disciplines. The proposed SCORE Program has as its goals: (1) To significantly improve the capabilities of NMSU to conduct biomedically relevant research by increasing the numbers of faculty who conduct biomedical research, increasing the numbers of trained research personnel, increasing the inventory of specialized single-user research instrumentation, and improving the capacity to maintain research instrumentation; (2) To significantly improve the quantity and quality of biomedical research conducted at NMSU by broadening grantsmanship efforts of faculty participants and increasing the numbers and quality of research publications; (3) To integrate the activities of the SCORE Program with an anticipated RISE Program to maximize resources for training minority scientists in the biomedical sciences by engaging students in SCORE Program research projects; (4) To increase the capacity of NMSU to self-evaluate, assess, and monitor its multi-component research programs by engaging trained personnel in the SCORE Program's evaluation plan and subjecting the Program to annual review by an external evaluation committee. This application contains research proposals for four research subprojects and two pilot subprojects. Disciplines represented among the project proposals are diverse. They include bioinorganic chemistry (Smith), physical/synthetic organic chemistry (Starnes), neuro-cognitive psychology (Kroger), whole-animal endocrinology (Hawkins), modern cell biology (Curtiss), and pathogenic microbiology (Oshima). Specific areas proposed for investigation include: fMRI and EEC imaging methodologies to investigate the distribution of dynamic functions across the frontal cortex of the brain; applications of immunofluorescent probes and confocal microscopy to identify and assign functionality to new genes for head and eye patterning in Drosophila; development of porphyrin-based receptor molecules for the selective recognition of nitrite anion and other biologically relevant anions that can be used as biosensors; synthesis of model iron oxo-complexes that mimic enzyme-catalyzed reaction intermediates of nonheme dioxygenases; investigations of the ecology and transmission of the pathogen, Cryptosporidium parvum that will lead to the development of various Cryptosporidium diagnostic tools at species, genotype, and subgenotype levels; and studies of the role of polyamines, putrescine, spermidine, and spermine, produced by the agmatine pathway in the functions of the corpus luteum. NMSU has an existing SCORE Program which was initiated on June 1, 2000, and renewed on June 1, 2004. This Program currently funds eleven regular subprojects and no pilot subprojects. The existing SCORE Program succeeded a 25-year-old associate MBRS Program which produced 71 minority Ph.D. scientists in the period from 1974-2004.